How To Develop an Effective Advertising Campaign

(Written by guest contributor Fletcher Groeneman)

It can be said that consumers are persuaded to purchase by their perception of the product and not by the actual product itself. What promotes the idea that every need can be satisfied with the goods or services from a given company? Effective and creative advertising is a skill that every corporation desires yet few succeed in mastering. What makes some ads so successful and others just pathetic? A few professional steps could put you on track to producing revenue-generating advertisements in no time.

Step 1: Choose an Objective

To begin with, you will need to focus on what the objective of the ad is. This is easily the most important yet overlooked step in marketing. 95% of your efforts should be focused on deciphering what need your product will fill. Your goal should be clear and firmly established before proceeding to the next step. Write it out so you can refer back to it constantly throughout your development process. Any ambiguity of purpose will waste hours of work during the development and deployment stages. Mario Pricken, author of Creative Advertising, puts it simply: “Emphasizing everything is emphasizing nothing.” You MUST be as specific as possible.

Step 2: Determine Your USP

Take your product and determine what is special about it. What makes it stand out from your competitors? This is called your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and it is invaluable to the well-being of your company. From there ask yourself what aspect of your USP you want to communicate and to whom? It might be tempting to include everyone in your target demographic; the thought is that the wider the target, the more customers you’ll attract. Actually the opposite is true. Determining who can benefit the most from your product and marketing specifically to them increases the clarity of your ad and will therefore land you more customers.

Step 3: Choose Your Medium

Next, pinpoint the most appropriate way to communicate your message. It could be an image, a line of text, a piece of direct mail, a billboard, a print ad, a video, a radio ad, etc. Don’t limit yourself just to the Internet. The medium you choose can help expose your brand to new demographics you never considered reaching. Each method will draw attention to different aspects of your product that can’t be communicated through any other avenue.

Step 4: Brainstorm

Once you’ve settled on the goal of your campaign and the method you will use to deploy it, begin brainstorming the actual ad content. Create a light-hearted atmosphere, and make sure to provide plenty of outlets for ideas (paper, whiteboard, video camera, etc). Begin by drawing out a sensory model of your product (see example). This is a simple chart that maps the leverage your product carries with each sense: touch, taste, smell, sight, and sound. Then decide which senses you wish to focus on. Use these “hot spots” as launching points for your discussions.

For example, assume you have a website that sells curly straws. After walking through the first few steps (finding the objective, the USP, and the medium), you come up with the goal of your proposed ad campaign: “How can a half-page printed image show that, when it comes to curly straws, we have the greatest selection of colors?” Notice that the goal is much more specific than: “How do we portray that we are the greatest curly straw business of all time?” Focus the goal and you will produce much more creative ideas during brainstorming. Now that we have the target pinpointed, you can sketch out your company’s sensory model:

CrazyStraws has a great presence already established with three senses: smell (each curly straw color has a different smell associated with it), touch (the curls and loops on each curly straw) and sight (curly straws have a very unique shape and color). However, you want the brand to gain a better visual recognition as time progresses. This realization should help guide you through your brainstorming and aid in determining which ads help support your goals.

Step 5: Track the Results

After you’ve launched your project, begin tracking your results. Measure the return you generate from your efforts, and try to define what worked and what changes could be made to further anchor your brand in the mind of the consumer. Don’t be quick to throw out negative feedback. The issue could become the basis for your next ad campaign.

ACTION STEPS

1. Focus on what your objective is; be specific.

2. Discover your Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

3. Find the appropriate medium.

4. Brainstorm by creating a sensory model to uncover potential senses you can employ.

5. Test your best ideas.

6. Deploy and record the results.

Sources:

Martin Lindstrom. Brand Sense – Build Powerful Brands through Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight, and Sound.

New York: Free Press, 2005.

Mario Pricken. Creative Advertising – Ideas and Techniques from the World’s Best Campaigns.

United Kingdom: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2008.